Hailee Steinfeld knows good hair. After all, the actor and singer has been hitting red carpets since she was just 13 years old (she’s one of the youngest actors to be nominated for an Academy Award, in case you forgot!) so it’s safe to say she has picked up plenty of tips over the years.
“I love getting my hair and makeup done in front of a mirror because I try and study what the heck these masters are doing because the work that they do is magical,” the 28-year-old tells me, when I meet her at the Peninsula Hotel in New York to chat about her latest beauty venture.
Now, Steinfeld is taking her hair knowledge to new heights as the face of Nexxus‘ new Get Hy campaign. Using hyaluronic tubing technology, the line promises three times the weightless volume. In fact, it’s the secret behind Steinfeld’s current bouncy blowout. With her brunette hair styled in an Old Hollywood bob, the actress says the products are key for stretching out a good hair day.
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“I used to just spray the heck out my hair and hope and pray to the hair Gods it would last, but it has so much more to do with the foundation just as much as it has to do with what you’re using to set it,” she says. “But I think starting with a great shampoo and conditioner that gives you that volume at the root and then going into that blowout. It’s only up from there.”
Between filming, press, and running her weekly newsletter Beau Society, Steinfeld spends a lot of time in the glam chair. But when she’s away from work, she prefers to give her hair a well deserved break. “When I’m on my own, less is more,” she says. “I like to let my hair rest and breathe. It depends on the day, but when I air dry, it’s a subtle wave. This bob length, it’s fun. I was very afraid when my hair got shorter and the air-drying thing, but it’s actually not terrible. So my air dry texture is fun to lean into.”
Steinfeld isn’t afraid to share the hair care wealth—although she admits her fiancé Josh Allen needs no help in the grooming department. “Luckily, he’s into hair care and skin care, so he’s got his whole little deal figured out, so that’s an area I can’t help [others] in.” Although she seems to have gotten him on board with the importance of wearing sunscreen: “And then also trying to get him to wear SPF, you know what I’m saying?” she adds.
Ahead, Hailee Steinfeld talks her new campaign with Nexxus, her hair do’s and dont’s, and the one style she’ll never revisit for Glamour‘s Big Beauty Questions.
Glamour: How does it feel to be working with a brand like Nexxus?
Hailee Steinfeld: So iconic. Nexxus has been around forever and has not changed in that their products make you look great, but make you feel even better. I love that this campaign is all about going as big and bold as possible with your hair, but matching your confidence level with that boldness and in that volume.
It was so fun to shoot the commercial and work on the campaign, but these products have become such a staple in my hair care routine. I love that it’s made it so easy for me to achieve a look that feels like I just walked out of a salon when I did it myself. The shampoo and conditioner leave my hair feeling like I don’t need anything else, which I absolutely love. Although I will throw in that Cloud Foam and it’s like magic happens.
We’re going to do a quick “Would you rather…?” Snatched slick back or voluminous blowout?
Voluminous blowout.
I saw you hesitate because you do like snatched slick back.
Those are literally my go-tos. It’s one or the other.
I’m friends with Danielle Priano, who I know works with you. She will snatch you within an inch of your life.
Oh my God. So true. I have one whole video of my whole face shape changing because of how tight that pony was pulled.
Greasy hair or washing your hair even though you’re really, really tired?
Oh, washing my hair. Absolutely. I did it the other day. I was like, I can’t go on with life right now. Nothing can help until I wash this hair.
Use 3-in-1 shampoo for the rest of your life or no heat protectant for the rest of your life?
Oh dear Lord. This is so hard. You’ve really stumped me. I’m thinking no heat protectant and just lay off heat.
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What’s one beauty rule you swear by?
I don’t leave the house without SPF and have it in every bag and car. It’s got to be everywhere. So if there’s ever a world in which I forget about it at the end of my morning routine, it’s like I’ve left myself with no choice but to grab it somewhere because it’s got to be there. As far back as I can remember, my mom has been such a champion for wearing SPF and thank God. What a difference it makes.
Do you have any hair regrets?
Oh, yeah. My brain immediately went to the bangs. I love bangs so much but they don’t love me. Maybe I would try them again…but I could never get them to lay the way I wanted to. And the worst part about it was I had someone cut my bangs who is phenomenal and one of the only people I will let cut my hair and she cut these amazing, long wispy cool bangs. And then I’d gone on this world press tour for a movie in which every hairstylist I saw in every city took scissors to them. And the bangs that I left with were not the bangs I came home with. It just took a turn. I saw a photo of myself midway through the grow out process and it’s just like, God, those really stayed with me for a long time.
What’s a beauty trend you’re currently obsessed with?
I’m very into this blush moment. When it comes to me doing my own makeup, it’s a very minimal look that I go for, but for whatever reason, blush was never part of it until recently. And I love that little pop of color. I love a good multi-purpose product. You’re using it for your cheeks, throw it on your lids and your lip. That’s always fun.
What is your go-to getting ready music?
I was going to answer this like it hasn’t been the same thing for the last over a year, but SZA‘s SOS Deluxe: Lana album is my most played everything. She’s the coolest person ever. Maybe sometimes it depends on what the energy is going into the event. That checks all the boxes though. If I’m looking for something calming, there’s something in it that feels calming. But then it also just gets me on my way and feeling good.
Fill in the blank. I feel most beautiful when____.
I feel most beautiful when I am doing what I love or surrounded by people that I love.
You travel a lot. What place or city gives you the most beauty inspiration?
Oh, that’s a great question. This might sound corny, but I really do feel like there is beauty everywhere. And one of my favorite things to do in this city is jump in a cab and people watch from there. There’s so many people that walk the streets of New York City that just walk with such a sense of purpose and independence, from their stride to their clothes. There’s people walking, biking, skateboarding. There’s so many different walks of life. In the back of the cab, I feel like I’m in a music video vibe. I’m always so curious about where these people are going. I’ve been coming to the city since I was very young, and I’ve always felt that New York has a level of style that is hard to come by. I love this city for that.
What’s your favorite way to unwind?
It’s not always easy, but just fully disconnecting. First thing to go is the phone. Just putting my phone away, the computers, all the gadgets, all the connections to outside noise. Cutting that off, being in nature, being with my dogs and again, loved ones and just leaning into just what really matters at the end of the day. I think it’s so easy to get caught up in all the outside noise and cutting all that off for a while and a good breathing technique. Just checking in with myself and listening to my body and giving myself whatever I need in that moment. And that could be five minutes alone, that could be on the phone with a friend. It could be whatever it is. It’s different all the time, but whatever I can do to feel disconnected from everything.
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Congrats on your Vogue Philippines cover. I’m Filipino too. Do you have a favorite Filipino food?
Chicken Adobo. I actually attempted to make it the other day out of a recipe book that I love from Tieghan Gerard. She’s so cute because she writes descriptions of how she came about the recipe, so it was her own flair. But I would love some authentic Filipino adobo. Yeah, I need that in my life.
Have you been to the Philippines recently?
Not recently, no. It’s been a very long time. But I would love to go soon. I’ve only ever had amazing experiences while being there, and sadly, my trips have always been quite short. So I would love to go and spend time.
What’s the best advice you would give your younger self?
I have these moments where I’m like, ‘Oh God, my younger self?’ I’m not 16 anymore. I was going to say some version of what I feel I’ve been told, but it maybe just didn’t resonate because it’s so much easier said than done to love yourself, accept yourself, and be confident.
You don’t just wake up confident. You very well could. You might have had a night where you didn’t, and then a new day is a new day, and you have that. You can find that within yourself. But it’s not the easiest thing to do. As somebody who encourages and advocates for self-confidence and self-love, I understand how difficult it can be to find and truly feel. I would just find a way to articulate that it’s not easy and it’s not going to be easy.
However, you are who you are and that’s great. You are who you are for a reason and you have a purpose and that can change too. I would tell her that life is about to happen in all sorts of ways that you expect and ways that you don’t. And people are going to come and go, but you’re going to stay with you forever. I’m really big on checking in with myself lately. So meet yourself where you’re at constantly. Know that if you’re feeling a certain type of way, only you know that. Don’t let anyone tell you how to feel or who to be or what to be. Don’t let anyone decide those things for you. Only you know how to be who you are.
Ariana Yaptangco is the senior beauty editor at Glamour. Follow her @arianayap.
The post Hailee Steinfeld on Self-Care, Filipino Food, and the Key to a Good Hair Day appeared first on Glamour.
